Parliament’s celebrity absentees

ET BureauApr 10, 2009, 02.37am IST

The report by a civil society organisation that 'celebrity' members of Parliament hardly did justice to the high seats they occupy in a tumultuous democracy like India's, should not elicit much surprise. Indeed, the first question that must be asked before tarring them with the same brush is why we put them there in the first place. Or, indeed, if we put them there at all. Of the 12 MPs, only the Lok Sabha ones can be said to have been put there by the lay voter; far more complex calculations decide who ends up in the Rajya Sabha. The thought then arises that if we vote the likes of Jaya Prada, Govinda and Dharmendra into the Lok Sabha, why do we seriously imagine that they will work sincerely for the betterment of their constituency? Late Sunil Dutt's devotion to his second career is merely the exception that proves the rule that adulation is not always a two-way emotion. The other shoo-in choice — cricketers — fall in the same category, though it must be noted that the relative silence of Navjyot Singh Sidhu in Parliament may have been balanced, at least in the BJP's books, by his spirited campaigns during various elections and mirthful interventions in other forums.

The other celluloid celebs, Vinod Khanna, Hema Malini and Jaya Bachchan can also be said to have proved themselves to be valuable political assets with contributions to political processes outside Parliament. That leaves the corporates and professionals covered by the Citizen's Report on Governance and Development, none of whom were "popularly elected". The charitable explanation would be that they were elevated to the Rajya Sabha to bring depth to economic and social debates and legislation. That these erudite and 'qualified' MPs — like their filmstar and cricketer colleagues — also did not attend House for more than 20% of the 64 days the House was in session in 2007, is therefore inexplicable and unforgivable. The problem is, the people can have their own back at below par Lok Sabha MPs by voting them out. It is perhaps time they also hold political parties accountable for whom they put in the Rajya Sabha.